This episode is hilarious. I chuckled a lot over the dog and the irises. I think it's great that you show what it's really like to keep a garden looking spiffy.
I put my iris siberica in a bucket of tepid water and shook them like hell. The soil came off and the roots untangled beautifully. They are now growing better than ever. I always separate entangled roots this way. It is also the best method for separating aquarium plants from the mineral matting they come in.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thanks! It is just good to make sure you water them very well when you first re-plant though to make sure the soil gets right around the exposed roots so there are no air pockets. I use a bit of old compost in the back-fill so it gets around them like a wet slurry. It has the added bonus that any pests like slug eggs, weevil grubs and weed roots that have got in there like my nemesis bindweed are removed at the same time.
Thank you. This video made me really happy. I have had the same struggles…wobbling when trying to separate plants…wanting to stop and having to plant first and then the dog eating fertilizer hahahah. Just lovely.
Once someone said to me, in a pinch, toss in dry cat food as planting fertilizer. Did this with cabbages. Fox came and dug up each cabbage and ate the cat food. Oh well...
Lifting, dividing and re-positioning... Why, you've become Monty Don! 😂 Seriously now, you can even prune the roots when dividing. Thanks for a great video, as usual.
Oh yes Roses can run and take over completely. I've got sone antique shrub roses that send runner and root readily from tip. I plan on eradicating one from the front garden and moving the pieces into the woods this fall. It can run back there and either be eaten by the deer or stick them with thorns trying!
So wonderful to see your garden springing to life. I use a sturdy lawn edger to slice through bearded iris rhizomes when dividing them and then use a sharp knife to refine the divisions.
Great video. For tougher jobs, I like to use a 5 lb wood splitting wedge with a mallet or heavy hammer. You can really strike it with a lot of force or light, little taps while the wedge stays in place. The weight of the wedge itself is sometimes enough to divide.
All very good information. I do wish you added light requirements and when or if you need to fertilize and how often. Thank you for sharing; your garden is beautiful.
I laughed out loud with this video. Thanks for being so real. This summer I planted my first salvia plant. I did not realize that it would get 3 feet high. I had to stake it like tomatoes because it was leaning out into the lawn. I got so much pleasure watching from my sewing room window as the bees and humming birds came to it. If it survives a central Indiana winter, I will move it to the back of the bed. I'll still be able to watch it from my sewing room. Gardening is always an adventure and I appreciate how you share your gardening expertise and surprises.
Great way to increase plants. I was at the garden centre today, found myself looking for suitable plants to divide in the future. Picked a geranium and an iris. Also in the reduced section found a lovely deciduous azalea and Viburnum. Both half price. I always check out the reduced section now! Once the flowering shrubs have finished they tend to be put into the reduced section.
god bless you , that was so heart warming watching your struggle , I felt like I wanted to help you , I hope you didn't hurt yourself , very informative thankyou
What I tend to struggle with is the best plant combinations together, I have quite a few plants but they never seem to look right together, could you do a video on mix and match planting please?
One easy way of doing it is to pick three perennials, one tall for the back section of your flower bed, one medium-height for the middle and a low ground cover for the front. Don't be afraid to use the same plant for a large area of your garden, it is much easier to make things look nice if you don't have too many different plants. Try to choose plants that like the same kind of soil and light conditions but look a bit different from each other, with different shapes and color hues in the leaves and flowers, though it might be wise to combine flowers from the same part of the color circle. If all your plants flower at once it might be a bit too much, conversely if there are long stretches of time when you have only leaves and no flowers that part of your garden might feel boring. Choosing plants that flower during different times of the year keeps your flower beds looking nice for longer. For beautiful shrubs and trees one companion plant is often enough, choose something that does not hide your prized bush or tree but shows of the stem(s) and beautifies the ground around the bush or tree.
I can really relate to wanting to go to bed but having to finish your gardening project! Those are the nights when I sleep like a baby from exhaustion. Great advice for dividing plants, this was one thing as a beginning gardener I was very hesitant and nervous to do. But several years in I am much more confident after seeing those plants improve and thrive. I take my largest carving knife into the garden and dig, slice, and replant. Happy Earth day🌸
I divided quite a few things this spring. My article were a solid mass of roots. I broke out the Sawzall & presto all divided-8 plants from 2. Also no exhaustion. Love your blog!
Kate Metzger I used the Sawzall aka reciprocating saw too. It also works good on grasses which I need the hubbies help with because they are ginormous and I just can’t lift them unless we do it in sections. Great minds think alike!😁
Thank you for sharing, I will be dividing a lot of my plants this spring, it’s a good way to fill in maybe some vacate spaces. Great way to stretch my senior dollars. 👍❤️😊
Hostas and ferns are also great for dividing. You do need a sharp spade though. In between tiles, take the tiles out. Dead gardencorner? Put them in pots to hide it.
Great tips. True, plants are usually tougher than people think. Anyway I’d suggest people, beginners especially, to check before dividing because some plants have specific requirements. Bearded irises for instance should definitely be divided in summer after flowering because that’s their dormant period. Also, even if they look like clumps they form new rhizomes which should be separated and planted singularly throwing away the old part of the plant. I am sure pictures of the process and better explanations can be found online.
Yes, I agree. Though when I checked a number of plants' specific requirements, some experts said 'divide in fall' and others 'divide in spring' (for the same plant!) so I thought that anyone who was confused by that could probably choose fall or spring according to what suited them. But I should have been clearer about the bearded irises because I think they're almost the only ones that have to be divided in summer.
I regularly lift and divide peonies. No harm at all. In fact, we have one peony which is over 80yrs old. It was suffering from fungal disease. For years I tried to remedy the situation, however, eventually gave up. I lifted it, cleaned off the soil, removed all the old damaged tubers, bleached the remaining tubers, replanted in a new spot. My mother says she has never seen it perform so well (65yrs). Since then I've never looked back.
How timely. Can't buy new plants with social distancing so I've been lifting and separating with a fair amount of success. I've found rice ferns, spider plants and similar species are very forgiving of my novice skill (even in our current hot dry weather in Barbados) and the parent and baby plants actually thrive afterward. And I did have to use a spade to lift and a butter knife to separate like you said.Thanks, Alexandra!
Great video and so timely. With our stay at home orders I have been moving all sorts of things in my Pacific Northwest (US) garden. Hubby dug up day lilies for me and we replanted them on a slope. Honestly we could lift out and divide more! I noticed they weren't blooming as much last year. I also put hubby to work moving three azalea shrubs that stopped blooming due to increased shade. I found a sunny spot, watered them in well and was shocked to see buds on them within two weeks! My attitude is if a plant isn't performing where it is, it might as well be dead so no harm in trying to move it!
Great video... I’m redoing my whole backyard (took out all the big oaks) so now I have a virtual blank slate... Keep up your great content and God bless😇
In the past , after digging up a large clumped perennial, I have used an old wood saw and very carefully sawed it into new smaller plants ... works fine .
Alexandra, you are hilarious! I haven't been long discovered your channel and in no way have I caught up on all of your past videos, but this one was the wittiest so far! So informative and entertaining at the same time. Thank you so much for sharing these videos with us. I do have a hint about dividing perennials: I have used a hatchet and a rubber mallet. This this makes it nice because you can put the plants on a work table to divide them, and that will save your back. Also, you don't have to worry about falling off of the spade, and that will save your boot! 😆😂
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden A chainsaw?! I think the spade is the safer of the two! 😆 I do want to be clear that when I divide perennials this way, I place the hatchet on the root ball and then whack it with the rubber mallet in order to make the cut. I usually takes a number of whacks, but it's the easiest way that I have found to divide them. 🌸🌿
I've divided different plants many times over many years. Alexandra, your explanation and video are excellent. I particularly liked your wrestling with that stubborn clump. That was a good way to show various techniques!
Thank you Alexandra for reminding us of dividing our huge clumps of plants. Unfortunately I always put it off and they get bigger and bigger. We have a lot of Daylillies and Shasta daisies that need to be divided. Maybe in the fall....hahah. Thank you for all your effort and time making this video. Stay well, Carol
Please can you tell me what is the best Way to divide orpin autumn joy ? I love it, I need to plant plenty of them in my garden. On you tube there is plenty of methods : with leaves, with stem, with division of clod. What is the most Quick way to have a beautiful orpin in short Time ? Thank you 🙏🏻
I'd suggest you just dig it up, cut or tear it apart, then replant. Don't worry about whether there is soil on the roots or not, just give it a go and see what happens.
I will definitely bear that in mind - I think the answers are different for different plants, but the Chelsea chop must be coming up soon, so I will try to see if that would work.
I have very sharp knife I use to cut the roots. It was sold years ago as a ginsu knife. Th add showed it cutting a can and then slicing tomatoes. I also have a sharp shovel but prefer my knife.
Two suggestions: Use a garden fork for prising the clump out of the ground rather than a spade. When it comes to dividing, if your spade is blunt or you lack strength then a good pruning saw is most effective - this often makes it easier to tease out the damaged roots as well and works even on very tough rooty plants like agapanthus, NZ flax or kniphofia.
You made me laugh when you said Lottie eats your blood fish and bone, my dogs, do exactly the same. And would fight over the bag if I took my hands off it. But seriously, great content Alexandria as many don't know they need dividing and also just how tough these plants are. I also find the flowering drops off a bit if they get too thick. I agree with John Dickenson a video on combining plant colours would be great. Thank you Cheryl from Australia.
Unfortunately I found this after I divided my Siberian Irises to share with a friend. We're a little older than you appear to be, and we had no success using spades to divide the 4-year-old clumps. Finally we ended up each grabbing a big chunk of iris roots and tug o'warring them apart. Nothing else worked, and I didn't want to sacrifice my only bread knife. Today I found your blog and fell apart laughing. I shared with her, and I hope she will subscribe. I also hope that none of my neighbors have gardening blogs...
Those Iris are a killer. I divided and moved mine last fall. I was jumping on them with the shovel and chopping at them with an axe. I felt like I had wrestled a pig when I was done.
Thank you for your very easy-to-understand and instructive video containing a lot of information not available anywhere else. I have something to ask you, an expert of gardening. My question does not directly relates to dividing perennials but related to perennials and other shrubs. I have some perennials or shrubs in my small garden that I want to throw away, abandon, or disposed of because I found them to be unsuitable for my garden although they grow well. My husband opposes it simply because they are living things. Of course, I feel very sorry for these plants. Must I not throw away or abandon a perennial or shrub once it is planted? What do you think of throwing away plants?
I think you should get rid of plants you genuinely don't like, though its good that you've thought about it carefully because sometimes you can come to like a plant you didn't like before. Would anyone else like them? Is there a community garden near you that might be planting up a new area? But if you can't fine a home for them and you still don't like them, don't feel bad about getting rid of them.
Thank you very much for the reply! It’s very kind of you to answer my question when you must be very busy with creating a new video. After reading your answer, I felt relieved. It has determined the direction in which to go. The next step is to persuade my husband…Thank you so much!
Thank you once again for the useful information. I've just planted almost 100 bulbs in my container jungle, looking forward to seeing what will bloom. I'm guessing I will have to divide those that do come up, next year, right? Especially since they won't have enough space to spread anyway. Have a wonderful evening!! ☺️
Thank you! Bulbs don't technically need dividing but as you say they won't have room to spread in the containers. You should have a fabulous display. To get more bulbs next year, feed them after they've flowered and let them go on growing for 6 weeks, and then you can dig them up and store them somewhere cool, dark and dry to re-use next year.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden thank you so much!!!! I wasn't really planning on digging any of them up, since all of the bulbs don't mind our (usually) really mild winter temperatures (I live in central Greece, zone 9b/10a), but I will definitely be fertilising them, once they are done blooming, to keep them happy for next year.
Very nice clear video, thank you! Do you have any advice for managing bindweed which is unfortunately established in some of my borders? It seems to grow out of the soil just at the point when perennials are all in leaf. At the moment I am just taking the tendrils which are close to the edge of the border, and painting the leaves with glyphosate. the ones in the middle of the border or growing up through the middle of a plant I am nipping off at the base.
I am doing 'weeds' this Saturday and am asking various gardening experts for their tips. I think with bindweed it is just keeping going, pulling it out and pulling it out though
I would like to see how you divide the Bergenias - have you done yours yet? - they aren’t the same as the Irises because they have rhizomes. Mine do have a big ‘hole’ in the middle because the rhizomes have grown out radially with plants at the ends and I don’t know where to cut the rhizomes.
I split some bergenias a few years ago and we just cut away and pulled away, then re-planted the bits that had the most root on them. They've settled in their new position well - I think they're a fairly tough plant and provided you re-plant the bits once you've dug it up (and keep well watered if the weather is dry), then it should survive.
I have Iris I should have divided yrs ago, my mom planted them a very long time ago. I noticed the first one blooming now is all white, they were purple and white. I remember she gave a huge amount to her friend who planted them all together around her flagpole, they came back all white, every one bloomed white. I'm hoping that doesn't happen too with mine. After watching the day you had, I too was ready for bed =^)
Thank you! If they stay in too long, I think they can 'revert' so if there was a white iris in its background, your purple ones may turn white. But if you take the white ones out as soon as they finished flowering, with any luck the purple will still remain.
Just started in a new garden so have nothing to devide ... I once saw someone with two big forks stuck against each other and into the roots , pulling them apart. That seemed to work. But who has two forks? I have a question: Do you have advice for how to water plants? When - morning or evening? At all or let them get used to the circumstances when they are rather new? And rock garden newly planted, where the water just runs down? What to think about rain water or tap water? What to do when your rainwater tank is empty and the ground gets rock hard? Raking it or eill it dry out more then? Certainly there is a lot to do right and to avoid, isn't there? We don't have as much rain as we used to and it is very dry now. Nights are about 4 Celsius and days full of sun and harsh wind. Thank you in advance! Love all your topics.
Two forks is good, but as you say...! Water newly planted plants in their first year. After that, I believe that plants need to be suitable for my climate, not to need too much special care unless there is a real drought. As for the ground getting rock hard - just protect the plants by watering around them, and tap water will be fine. Or plant plants that are happy in very dry conditions. Vegetables and pots also need extra water. Here is a video on water saving tips that might be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/rW2WEtrW6yQ/v-deo.html
Do rudbeckia goldstrum need to be thinned out? I don’t see that mine have “centered” out, but they are thick. I have them with dark blue salvia, which are truly invasive. I divide them almost every other year! Thank you.
Yes, I believe they do. They are propagated by being lifted and divided, so if they get too clumpy, it's probably a good idea to lift and divide even if they haven't got their bald patch.
Just an idea: how about using an electric knife to separate the roots? Of course, after using it on the plants, you wouldn't want to use it for cutting up your turkey!
I think it's much the same thing - the bald patch in the middle is the plant dying off, so lifting and dividing sorts that out. Lifting and dividing generally creates more space for the newer parts of the plant. Also I think that some plants may 'revert' to a different plant if allowed to carry on growing, so lifting and dividing helps prevent, say, a purple flower from reverting to white, for example.
I've had an Itoh peonie in situ for 5 years now. While it's grown noticibly bigger it's kept to a rather neat profile. When I bought it as a small root and stalk it was the most expensive plant I'd ever bought. I wouldn't dream of trying to divide it! Nice thing about Itoh peonies is that despite having the hugest flowers they never droop or need propping up. Last year I divided a rather nice hybrid aquilegia, which has taken well in 2 different locations. Thanks for the interesting videos and the humour, you're lucky to have a strong chap to do a bit of labouring for you, even if you have to keep an eye on what he's doing!
I bought some unusual gingers last autumn but they don't seem to have survived the winter. There's a pink 1950s hybrid tea rose which I bought by accident, that's probably the rarest. I think it's called Gaujard.
So, the lesson that you have learned is: when delegating a task, explain the goal and the reason for the task. With that information, your husband would've approached the irises differently :-)
I wouldn't have to agree but disagree, they say you can do it all times of year, summer propergation is fantastic but you have to manage your conditions.
Lifting, dividing and re-positioning... Why, you've become Monty Don! 😂 Seriously now, you can even prune the roots when dividing. Thanks for a great video, as usual.
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This episode is hilarious. I chuckled a lot over the dog and the irises. I think it's great that you show what it's really like to keep a garden looking spiffy.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for some wonderful laughs and great advocacy dividing perennials. 😂
Loved the comment you made, you wanted to go to sleep after dividing those plants.😊 Great content!
Thank you!
I can always tell you have a journalist background by how no nonsense your videos are, coherent themes with a lot of information and nice editing!👌🌹
Thank you so much!
I put my iris siberica in a bucket of tepid water and shook them like hell. The soil came off and the roots untangled beautifully. They are now growing better than ever. I always separate entangled roots this way. It is also the best method for separating aquarium plants from the mineral matting they come in.
That is a really good tip. Thank you.
What a good idea! I bought a pruning saw but your method would have been better.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thanks! It is just good to make sure you water them very well when you first re-plant though to make sure the soil gets right around the exposed roots so there are no air pockets. I use a bit of old compost in the back-fill so it gets around them like a wet slurry. It has the added bonus that any pests like slug eggs, weevil grubs and weed roots that have got in there like my nemesis bindweed are removed at the same time.
@@rosmitton2202 Thank you!
That does sound like a good idea
Thank you. This video made me really happy. I have had the same struggles…wobbling when trying to separate plants…wanting to stop and having to plant first and then the dog eating fertilizer hahahah. Just lovely.
Thank you!
“......and the dog ate it.....” 😂😂
Once someone said to me, in a pinch, toss in dry cat food as planting fertilizer. Did this with cabbages. Fox came and dug up each cabbage and ate the cat food. Oh well...
I use a hand saw to divide awkward roots like agapanthus.My dogs also eat fertiliser too. Love it.
Always great.
Lifting, dividing and re-positioning... Why, you've become Monty Don! 😂
Seriously now, you can even prune the roots when dividing. Thanks for a great video, as usual.
Thank you! Pruning roots is good too - although I just couldn't wait to get those plants in and move on to the cup of tea stage.
Oh yes Roses can run and take over completely. I've got sone antique shrub roses that send runner and root readily from tip. I plan on eradicating one from the front garden and moving the pieces into the woods this fall. It can run back there and either be eaten by the deer or stick them with thorns trying!
So wonderful to see your garden springing to life. I use a sturdy lawn edger to slice through bearded iris rhizomes when dividing them and then use a sharp knife to refine the divisions.
An excellent tip! Thank you.
Great video. For tougher jobs, I like to use a 5 lb wood splitting wedge with a mallet or heavy hammer. You can really strike it with a lot of force or light, little taps while the wedge stays in place. The weight of the wedge itself is sometimes enough to divide.
You made me laugh 😆 I needed this. Hello from Kansas 🙂
So glad!
Thank you for posting. Very helpful information
Glad it was helpful!
2 or 3 good hearty laughs I got from this one!
me too!
All very good information. I do wish you added light requirements and when or if you need to fertilize and how often. Thank you for sharing; your garden is beautiful.
Irises are best in full sun. You probably don't need to fertilise them except when you're splitting them (every 3 years or so)
I laughed out loud with this video. Thanks for being so real. This summer I planted my first salvia plant. I did not realize that it would get 3 feet high. I had to stake it like tomatoes because it was leaning out into the lawn. I got so much pleasure watching from my sewing room window as the bees and humming birds came to it. If it survives a central Indiana winter, I will move it to the back of the bed. I'll still be able to watch it from my sewing room. Gardening is always an adventure and I appreciate how you share your gardening expertise and surprises.
Thank you!
Great way to increase plants. I was at the garden centre today, found myself looking for suitable plants to divide in the future.
Picked a geranium and an iris. Also in the reduced section found a lovely deciduous azalea and Viburnum. Both half price.
I always check out the reduced section now! Once the flowering shrubs have finished they tend to be put into the reduced section.
god bless you , that was so heart warming watching your struggle , I felt like I wanted to help you , I hope you didn't hurt yourself , very informative thankyou
We survived!
I have those irises as well and you are correct that they are very difficult to divide. I think a saw would help! LOL
Yes, I did wonder whether a chain saw might be necessary!
What I tend to struggle with is the best plant combinations together, I have quite a few plants but they never seem to look right together, could you do a video on mix and match planting please?
That's such a good idea. I will think about the right person/people to talk to.
One easy way of doing it is to pick three perennials, one tall for the back section of your flower bed, one medium-height for the middle and a low ground cover for the front. Don't be afraid to use the same plant for a large area of your garden, it is much easier to make things look nice if you don't have too many different plants. Try to choose plants that like the same kind of soil and light conditions but look a bit different from each other, with different shapes and color hues in the leaves and flowers, though it might be wise to combine flowers from the same part of the color circle. If all your plants flower at once it might be a bit too much, conversely if there are long stretches of time when you have only leaves and no flowers that part of your garden might feel boring. Choosing plants that flower during different times of the year keeps your flower beds looking nice for longer.
For beautiful shrubs and trees one companion plant is often enough, choose something that does not hide your prized bush or tree but shows of the stem(s) and beautifies the ground around the bush or tree.
I can really relate to wanting to go to bed but having to finish your gardening project! Those are the nights when I sleep like a baby from exhaustion. Great advice for dividing plants, this was one thing as a beginning gardener I was very hesitant and nervous to do. But several years in I am much more confident after seeing those plants improve and thrive. I take my largest carving knife into the garden and dig, slice, and replant. Happy Earth day🌸
Thank you!
Thank you middle sized garden expert. This show on perrenial division was sooooo helpful...Margie USA
Glad it was helpful!
This was so helpful. Loved seeing your dog eating the fertilizer as my dog does this as well. It was a nice chuckle.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I divided quite a few things this spring. My article were a solid mass of roots. I broke out the Sawzall & presto all divided-8 plants from 2. Also no exhaustion. Love your blog!
Kate Metzger I used the Sawzall aka reciprocating saw too. It also works good on grasses which I need the hubbies help with because they are ginormous and I just can’t lift them unless we do it in sections. Great minds think alike!😁
Thank you. I think an electric saw would be a very good idea.
Thank you for sharing, I will be dividing a lot of my plants this spring, it’s a good way to fill in maybe some vacate spaces. Great way to stretch my senior dollars. 👍❤️😊
It is, indeed. All these clumps were very useful when I first planted the garden, but they have got a bit out of hand.
Lottie loved that❤
She did, she was in there before I had my hand in the box for the second time!
Hostas and ferns are also great for dividing. You do need a sharp spade though. In between tiles, take the tiles out. Dead gardencorner? Put them in pots to hide it.
Great tips. True, plants are usually tougher than people think.
Anyway I’d suggest people, beginners especially, to check before dividing because some plants have specific requirements. Bearded irises for instance should definitely be divided in summer after flowering because that’s their dormant period. Also, even if they look like clumps they form new rhizomes which should be separated and planted singularly throwing away the old part of the plant. I am sure pictures of the process and better explanations can be found online.
Yes, I agree. Though when I checked a number of plants' specific requirements, some experts said 'divide in fall' and others 'divide in spring' (for the same plant!) so I thought that anyone who was confused by that could probably choose fall or spring according to what suited them. But I should have been clearer about the bearded irises because I think they're almost the only ones that have to be divided in summer.
I regularly lift and divide peonies. No harm at all. In fact, we have one peony which is over 80yrs old. It was suffering from fungal disease. For years I tried to remedy the situation, however, eventually gave up. I lifted it, cleaned off the soil, removed all the old damaged tubers, bleached the remaining tubers, replanted in a new spot. My mother says she has never seen it perform so well (65yrs). Since then I've never looked back.
Amazing. Peonies are so beautiful- not just the flowers but also the foliage
Thank you for the reminder - I’m always late to divide in my English garden and end up doing it in Autumn.
Me too.
How timely. Can't buy new plants with social distancing so I've been lifting and separating with a fair amount of success. I've found rice ferns, spider plants and similar species are very forgiving of my novice skill (even in our current hot dry weather in Barbados) and the parent and baby plants actually thrive afterward. And I did have to use a spade to lift and a butter knife to separate like you said.Thanks, Alexandra!
Online! And in the U.S., Lowes is open and busy.
Thank you!
Great video and so timely. With our stay at home orders I have been moving all sorts of things in my Pacific Northwest (US) garden. Hubby dug up day lilies for me and we replanted them on a slope. Honestly we could lift out and divide more! I noticed they weren't blooming as much last year. I also put hubby to work moving three azalea shrubs that stopped blooming due to increased shade. I found a sunny spot, watered them in well and was shocked to see buds on them within two weeks! My attitude is if a plant isn't performing where it is, it might as well be dead so no harm in trying to move it!
Absolutely! Thank you.
Great video... I’m redoing my whole backyard (took out all the big oaks) so now I have a virtual blank slate... Keep up your great content and God bless😇
Thank you!
In the past , after digging up a large clumped perennial, I have used an old wood saw and very carefully sawed it into new smaller plants ... works fine .
I definitely will try that next time.
Your plant combos are so beautiful 🌷
Thank you! 😊
Alexandra, you are hilarious! I haven't been long discovered your channel and in no way have I caught up on all of your past videos, but this one was the wittiest so far! So informative and entertaining at the same time. Thank you so much for sharing these videos with us. I do have a hint about dividing perennials: I have used a hatchet and a rubber mallet. This this makes it nice because you can put the plants on a work table to divide them, and that will save your back. Also, you don't have to worry about falling off of the spade, and that will save your boot! 😆😂
A hatchet sounds perfect. Others have suggested a chain saw....Thank you!
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden A chainsaw?! I think the spade is the safer of the two! 😆 I do want to be clear that when I divide perennials this way, I place the hatchet on the root ball and then whack it with the rubber mallet in order to make the cut. I usually takes a number of whacks, but it's the easiest way that I have found to divide them. 🌸🌿
Japanese anemones is another one, I have a huge spread of these taking over part of my garden.
So do I!
I keep my shovels sharpened on the bench grinder. Helps a lot and don't need so much muscle.
An old saw is great for dividing tough clumps, brutal but works
I've divided different plants many times over many years. Alexandra, your explanation and video are excellent. I particularly liked your wrestling with that stubborn clump. That was a good way to show various techniques!
Thank you!
Thank you Alexandra for reminding us of dividing our huge clumps of plants. Unfortunately I always put it off and they get bigger and bigger. We have a lot of Daylillies and Shasta daisies that need to be divided. Maybe in the fall....hahah. Thank you for all your effort and time making this video. Stay well, Carol
I so know that feeling!
Please can you tell me what is the best Way to divide orpin autumn joy ? I love it, I need to plant plenty of them in my garden. On you tube there is plenty of methods : with leaves, with stem, with division of clod. What is the most Quick way to have a beautiful orpin in short Time ? Thank you 🙏🏻
I'd suggest you just dig it up, cut or tear it apart, then replant. Don't worry about whether there is soil on the roots or not, just give it a go and see what happens.
I really do enjoy watching your videos on tea brakes , thank you .
Glad you like them!
Great video, we are all about dividing and replanting. Nice work over there 👍🏼
Thanks 👍
I just love your videos. They are so helpful and honest!
Thank you so much!
I use those metal plant hoops as well. They are fantastic!
They are.
Beautiful plant mam🌹🌹🌱
I divided some daylilies last month. Very hard work. I thought it would b easy at first.
Oh, it is!
Love following your garden. Thanks for tip on dividing iris etc. :)
Thank you!
Thankyou so much .that was really interesting and helpful. I would appreciate something on. When yo prune perennials to get maximum flowering .
I will definitely bear that in mind - I think the answers are different for different plants, but the Chelsea chop must be coming up soon, so I will try to see if that would work.
I have very sharp knife I use to cut the roots. It was sold years ago as a ginsu knife. Th add showed it cutting a can and then slicing tomatoes. I also have a sharp shovel but prefer my knife.
That sounds like an excellent tool for a garden.
Two suggestions: Use a garden fork for prising the clump out of the ground rather than a spade. When it comes to dividing, if your spade is blunt or you lack strength then a good pruning saw is most effective - this often makes it easier to tease out the damaged roots as well and works even on very tough rooty plants like agapanthus, NZ flax or kniphofia.
Very good suggestions.
You made me laugh when you said Lottie eats your blood fish and bone, my dogs, do exactly the same. And would fight over the bag if I took my hands off it. But seriously, great content Alexandria as many don't know they need dividing and also just how tough these plants are. I also find the flowering drops off a bit if they get too thick. I agree with John Dickenson a video on combining plant colours would be great. Thank you Cheryl from Australia.
Thank you! I think combining plants is a great idea.
Unfortunately I found this after I divided my Siberian Irises to share with a friend. We're a little older than you appear to be, and we had no success using spades to divide the 4-year-old clumps. Finally we ended up each grabbing a big chunk of iris roots and tug o'warring them apart. Nothing else worked, and I didn't want to sacrifice my only bread knife. Today I found your blog and fell apart laughing. I shared with her, and I hope she will subscribe. I also hope that none of my neighbors have gardening blogs...
Those Iris are a killer. I divided and moved mine last fall. I was jumping on them with the shovel and chopping at them with an axe. I felt like I had wrestled a pig when I was done.
Quite a few people have said so on Twitter, too! So far they are proving to be the monsters of lifting and dividing, but Nepeta was pretty tough too.
Thank you for your very easy-to-understand and instructive video containing a lot of information not available anywhere else. I have something to ask you, an expert of gardening. My question does not directly relates to dividing perennials but related to perennials and other shrubs. I have some perennials or shrubs in my small garden that I want to throw away, abandon, or disposed of because I found them to be unsuitable for my garden although they grow well. My husband opposes it simply because they are living things. Of course, I feel very sorry for these plants. Must I not throw away or abandon a perennial or shrub once it is planted? What do you think of throwing away plants?
I think you should get rid of plants you genuinely don't like, though its good that you've thought about it carefully because sometimes you can come to like a plant you didn't like before. Would anyone else like them? Is there a community garden near you that might be planting up a new area? But if you can't fine a home for them and you still don't like them, don't feel bad about getting rid of them.
Thank you very much for the reply!
It’s very kind of you to answer my question when you must be very busy with creating a new video. After reading your answer, I felt relieved. It has determined the direction in which to go. The next step is to persuade my husband…Thank you so much!
Thank you once again for the useful information. I've just planted almost 100 bulbs in my container jungle, looking forward to seeing what will bloom. I'm guessing I will have to divide those that do come up, next year, right? Especially since they won't have enough space to spread anyway.
Have a wonderful evening!! ☺️
Thank you! Bulbs don't technically need dividing but as you say they won't have room to spread in the containers. You should have a fabulous display. To get more bulbs next year, feed them after they've flowered and let them go on growing for 6 weeks, and then you can dig them up and store them somewhere cool, dark and dry to re-use next year.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden thank you so much!!!! I wasn't really planning on digging any of them up, since all of the bulbs don't mind our (usually) really mild winter temperatures (I live in central Greece, zone 9b/10a), but I will definitely be fertilising them, once they are done blooming, to keep them happy for next year.
🌸🌺🐞🦋🐝Always Enjoy 😉
Thank you!
Very nice clear video, thank you! Do you have any advice for managing bindweed which is unfortunately established in some of my borders? It seems to grow out of the soil just at the point when perennials are all in leaf. At the moment I am just taking the tendrils which are close to the edge of the border, and painting the leaves with glyphosate. the ones in the middle of the border or growing up through the middle of a plant I am nipping off at the base.
I am doing 'weeds' this Saturday and am asking various gardening experts for their tips. I think with bindweed it is just keeping going, pulling it out and pulling it out though
2:56 😂what a guy!🌹 yep, Bulbs Are Stronggg... and iris- woowee!
I would like to see how you divide the Bergenias - have you done yours yet? - they aren’t the same as the Irises because they have rhizomes. Mine do have a big ‘hole’ in the middle because the rhizomes have grown out radially with plants at the ends and I don’t know where to cut the rhizomes.
I split some bergenias a few years ago and we just cut away and pulled away, then re-planted the bits that had the most root on them. They've settled in their new position well - I think they're a fairly tough plant and provided you re-plant the bits once you've dug it up (and keep well watered if the weather is dry), then it should survive.
I have Iris I should have divided yrs ago, my mom planted them a very long time ago. I noticed the first one blooming now is all white, they were purple and white. I remember she gave a huge amount to her friend who planted them all together around her flagpole, they came back all white, every one bloomed white. I'm hoping that doesn't happen too with mine. After watching the day you had, I too was ready for bed =^)
Thank you! If they stay in too long, I think they can 'revert' so if there was a white iris in its background, your purple ones may turn white. But if you take the white ones out as soon as they finished flowering, with any luck the purple will still remain.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thanks for that advice, I'll do that this time. Have a nice Sunday, Stay well.!!
Just started in a new garden so have nothing to devide ... I once saw someone with two big forks stuck against each other and into the roots , pulling them apart. That seemed to work. But who has two forks?
I have a question: Do you have advice for how to water plants? When - morning or evening? At all or let them get used to the circumstances when they are rather new? And rock garden newly planted, where the water just runs down? What to think about rain water or tap water? What to do when your rainwater tank is empty and the ground gets rock hard? Raking it or eill it dry out more then? Certainly there is a lot to do right and to avoid, isn't there? We don't have as much rain as we used to and it is very dry now. Nights are about 4 Celsius and days full of sun and harsh wind. Thank you in advance! Love all your topics.
Two forks is good, but as you say...! Water newly planted plants in their first year. After that, I believe that plants need to be suitable for my climate, not to need too much special care unless there is a real drought. As for the ground getting rock hard - just protect the plants by watering around them, and tap water will be fine. Or plant plants that are happy in very dry conditions. Vegetables and pots also need extra water. Here is a video on water saving tips that might be helpful: ua-cam.com/video/rW2WEtrW6yQ/v-deo.html
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Thank you, that was quite helpful 👍
In a couple years when my plants will need dividing i plan on sneakily going and filling in the gaps in our communial garden 😂
Do rudbeckia goldstrum need to be thinned out? I don’t see that mine have “centered” out, but they are thick. I have them with dark blue salvia, which are truly invasive. I divide them almost every other year! Thank you.
Yes, I believe they do. They are propagated by being lifted and divided, so if they get too clumpy, it's probably a good idea to lift and divide even if they haven't got their bald patch.
Get yourself a Hori knife for dividing plants like that. It will make your life so much easier.
Yes, I gather they are wonderful, been meaning to get one.
Just an idea: how about using an electric knife to separate the roots? Of course, after using it on the plants, you wouldn't want to use it for cutting up your turkey!
A few people say they use an electric saw - I think something electric might save alot of effort!
Huh. I always thought you lift and divide when the center gets empty like that to keep the plant from dying out, not to stop it from spreading?
I think it's much the same thing - the bald patch in the middle is the plant dying off, so lifting and dividing sorts that out. Lifting and dividing generally creates more space for the newer parts of the plant. Also I think that some plants may 'revert' to a different plant if allowed to carry on growing, so lifting and dividing helps prevent, say, a purple flower from reverting to white, for example.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Ah, thanks very much.
6:19 *peonies* are so wispy, i dare not divide them. I stake them because they flop when in bloom. They're gorgeous tho!
I agree.
@@TheMiddlesizedGarden - do peony seem "boutique-ish" to you? Like they know their beauty, so treat-them-right. LOL
I've had an Itoh peonie in situ for 5 years now. While it's grown noticibly bigger it's kept to a rather neat profile. When I bought it as a small root and stalk it was the most expensive plant I'd ever bought. I wouldn't dream of trying to divide it! Nice thing about Itoh peonies is that despite having the hugest flowers they never droop or need propping up.
Last year I divided a rather nice hybrid aquilegia, which has taken well in 2 different locations. Thanks for the interesting videos and the humour, you're lucky to have a strong chap to do a bit of labouring for you, even if you have to keep an eye on what he's doing!
Tips on asters please
Great idea. I need to learn more about mine! I will find a good expert, thank you.
The Middle-Sized Garden thank you 😊
Use an old breadknife. Easy peasy.
Random question, what is the rarest plant in your garden? Any endangered or vulnerable species?
I bought some unusual gingers last autumn but they don't seem to have survived the winter. There's a pink 1950s hybrid tea rose which I bought by accident, that's probably the rarest. I think it's called Gaujard.
@jerome- Lavender! 😂😂😂 (im done trying)
So, the lesson that you have learned is: when delegating a task, explain the goal and the reason for the task. With that information, your husband would've approached the irises differently :-)
Thats what he said!
Not all perennials get that bald patch in the middle. That's not the best way to decide if it's time to split your perennials...
Use a saw!
What if you don’t have a husband and also have an compromised immune system, that tackles your muscles? 🤔
A friend? A chainsaw? You have my sympathy because dividing some perennials (not all) can be a really tough job.
You need to have your husband better trained.....him throwing away plants will not do.
I wouldn't have to agree but disagree, they say you can do it all times of year, summer propergation is fantastic but you have to manage your conditions.
Lifting, dividing and re-positioning... Why, you've become Monty Don! 😂
Seriously now, you can even prune the roots when dividing. Thanks for a great video, as usual.
I think Monty does it rather more neatly than I do!